Photos of the Day: Woman Climbs to Top in Napa Pruning Contest

This year, there was something a little different about the Napa Valley Grapegrowers' pruning competition. Some of the contestants lining up to hack and slash at the overgrown vines were women. The women's first-place winner, Celia Perez of V. Sattui Winery, had the highest scores for both men and women.

Feb 28, 2014

The decision to open up the contest to women marks a change in what used to be the nearly exclusively man’s world of vineyard work. There are a lot more women to be seen working in the fields, something that accelerated after the 2008 recession swallowed up other jobs.

In this Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014 photo, Maria Romero competes in the first-ever women's division of the annual Napa Valley Grapegrowers' pruning competition at Beringer Vineyards' Gamble Ranch in Yountville, Calif. The decision to open up the contest to women marks a change in what used to be the nearly exclusively man’s world of vineyard work. There are a lot more women to be seen working in the fields, something that accelerated after the 2008 recession swallowed up other jobs. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Read: Female Vineyard Worker Tops in Napa Contest

“The really exciting thing we discovered when we got back to the office was that the first-place female winner would have beaten everyone in the competition — and not by just a little!” according to Jennifer Putnam, executive director of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers.

In this Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014 photo, the top four contestants, from left, Maricruz Gutierrez, Maria Dolores Torres, Maria Romero and Celia Perez stand on the podium during an awards ceremony after the first-ever women's division of the annual Napa Valley Grapegrowers' pruning competition at Beringer Vineyards' Gamble Ranch in Yountville, Calif. “The really exciting thing we discovered when we got back to the office was that the first-place female winner would have beaten everyone in the competition — and not by just a little!” according to Jennifer Putnam, executive director of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

The decision to add a woman's division to the annual contest reflects demographic changes as more women have moved into the traditionally male field of vine husbandry.

In this Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014 photo, a group of women hold up their pruning shears while posing for a picture after competing in the first-ever women's division of the annual Napa Valley Grapegrowers' pruning competition at Beringer Vineyards' Gamble Ranch in Yountville, Calif. The decision to add a woman's division to the annual contest reflects demographic changes as more women have moved into the traditionally male field of vine husbandry. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)